It's Okay to be Afraid of the Dark
by MizuneMinamiki
Summary: As a result of Tsubasa's battling in the world championships, Hikaru is left traumatized. Who will be there to help her when she needs it most? COMPLETE


_**Sorry for the fail title. XD Thanks for checking this out regardless.**_

_**Okay. So I decided to write a quick little story. This takes place after Tsubasa and Yuu's battle with Demure and Benkei. It's not exactly how things happened in the show, but it's how I feel things should have happened. :3 So enjoy. I do not own Beyblade.**_

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><p>It was over in a flash. His crazy chuckling echoed in the charred stadium, as black smoke swirled up into the sky. The cracked flat screen sizzled as it spat out sparks. People who had been watching the battle were stunned silent. Even his teammates were frozen, eyes wide and mouths open in shock. He was laughing, still, with all eyes on him, until he suddenly went silent. A dull thud was heard only a moment later.<p>

She was crouching on her knees, her head down and her eyes shut tight. She tried to forget. But no matter how hard she tried, she kept seeing that fierce dragon-like bird that had shattered the window in front of her only moments before. The scene played over and over in her mind. There was no escaping it now.

She shook violently and her teeth chattered, almost as if she were cold. Ryo Hagane knelt beside her, with one arm around her shoulders. But even though she knew he wouldn't let anything hurt her, she still felt unsure and frightened.

"Hikaru, it's okay now. It's over," he told her soothingly.

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a weak whimper. After a moment, she was able to choke out, "I know, Director. Go check on Tsubasa."

"Hikaru…"

She jerked away from him. Ryo hesitantly rose to his feet and turned his back to her. With one last glance at his terrified secretary, he left the room.

When Hikaru was sure he had gone, she shuddered and thought back to her battle with Ryuga. The day she lost that match was the day she decided to quit beyblading. It wasn't because she had been proved no match for such a strong blader. No, it was the fear and pain that L-drago had inflicted upon her that caused her to make that choice.

Hikaru stood slowly, wrapping her arms around in front of herself. She let out a shaky sign and walked over to the broken window to look down into the stadium. Most of the crowd had gone, leaving only the two teams. Tsubasa wasn't anywhere to be seen, but Yuu was lying on the ground where the two had been standing during their battle. Masamune and Madoka bounded over to the unconscious orange haired kid, and Masamune picked him up and carried him off, with Madoka following.

The other team was much less passionate about the situation. From where Hikaru stood, looking down at the scene, Nile appeared to be fussing at his teammates for losing the match. Benkei and Demure were still on the ground, looking quite battered after Tsubasa's outburst, and yet Nile wasn't showing any sympathy towards them whatsoever.

Then she realized that Kyoya wasn't there, and thought he must have still be lying unconscious in the team room. _I guess I should go see how he's doing._ She felt her cheeks get hot. _What am I talking about? He wouldn't care for me to check on him. Besides, Ginga was hurt, too. I should check on him first, right?_ Her feet heavy, she trudged toward the door, only to halt when her cellphone began to ring.

"Hello?" she croaked.

"Hikaru." She recognized the deep voice of Ryo Hagane. "I'm with Tsubasa in the hospital."

Hikaru trembled at the mention of Tsubasa's name. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn't need Ryo thinking she was afraid of Tsubasa. "How is he?" she asked after a moment.

"It's not looking too good." Ryo paused. "Can you let teams Gan Gan Galaxy and Wild Fang know what's going on, please?"

"Of course. Tell me what they need to know."

**~A few minutes later~**

The door to team Gan Gan Galaxy's room was already wide open. Hikaru didn't bother to knock; after all, the door _was _open, and they were all friends. She stepped in and stood in the doorway, expressionless as they all turned their attention to her.

"Hikaru!" Ginga was the first to shout her name enthusiastically, and she was startled as he ran forward and gave her a quick hug.

She smiled briefly to him and gave a swift nod to the others in acknowledgement. "I have news about Tsubasa," Hikaru said gravely.

"Is he going to be alright?" Yuu asked, leaping up from where he was lying down. His eyes were wide with concern for his friend.

The blue haired girl's gaze drifted to the ground for a moment before she looked back up again. "I am not sure. Ryo says it doesn't look good for him." She blinked, then met Ginga's golden gaze. "He also believes that…Tsubasa's pattern of battling was quite similar to Ryuga's…" She paused as Ginga's eyes widened. "…if not, the same."

"Tsubasa…" Yuu murmured.

"Do you know why?" Madoka asked.

Hikaru shrugged. "Ryo is only making an assumption. He said he could review scenes from Ryuga's battle and compare. I just hope…" Her voice trailed off. She found herself unable to talk about Ryuga anymore.

The room fell silent.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," she said after a little while. Her gaze flicked from Masamune to Ginga, and back again. "Since there's been one win and one tie each, there will be one final match, a team battle."

"When!?" Masamune leaped out his chair, eyes glowing. "I bet Nile will be there! I want to try _one _more time, and I'll show him that I really _am _number one!"

"It should be tomorrow, that's all I know. You guys need to recover after…what happened." She turned and glanced over her shoulder. "I have to fill in Team Wild Fang now."

**~A few more minutes later~**

Hikaru halted outside the door. She heard angry voices coming from inside.

"_What _was that? How did that _happen_? We had the perfect chance to crush them!" The voice, one she didn't recognize, was smooth as honey and somehow sounded calm and irritated at the same time.

"Whatever happened, that was _not _Tsubasa!" She knew _that _was Benkei's annoying voice, a shriek that was quite unnecessary.

"Cool it, you two, I'm sure we still have a chance to win and move on." That was Kyoya.

She wanted to wait and listen in, but decided not to. _My luck, one of them will catch me._

_Rap, rap, rap. _Hikaru knocked on the door and took a step back. Everyone inside fell quiet and she heard faint shuffling within. At last, the door the opened, and Kyoya stood in front of her.

"Hi!" she said.

"Ah! Hikaru! Haven't seen much of you since Battle Bladers." Kyoya flashed his fang in a smile. "Come on in."

She stepped in, her hands behind her back. Of course Nile and Demure didn't recognize her, but Benkei did, and he shouted her name a little too loudly.

Kyoya sat in a chair and crossed his arms. "What do you want?" His eyes were filled with curiosity.

Hikaru met his gaze. "I have news about Tsubasa, though I'm sure _you_ really don't care."

"I care! Tell me what happened!" Benkei called out.

She filled them in on Tsubasa, though Nile and Demure didn't seem to be listening. Mentioning Tsubasa's name made her tremble. She could tell that the way she appeared to lose her confidence was attracting the attention of all four bladers. Fighting to keep her voice steady, she finished, "And the deciding match will be sometime tomorrow."

Kyoya turned to Nile. They both smiled. "We'll win it," Kyoya said, and Nile nodded.

_That's all I had to do here. I guess I have to go. Just… _She stepped forward to stand directly in front of Kyoya, and he looked up at her with his normal bored expression. Hikaru knelt down so she was eye level with him, and leaned closer to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, she saw that he was blushing, and she felt her own face get a little warm. The look of confusion he gave her was priceless.

"Good luck Kyoya," she murmured. Then she turned around and headed for the door, pulling it shut behind her.

"Well that was…unexpected." Kyoya reached up to touch his face gently where her lips had been.

"I know." Nile walked over to stand beside his friend. He crossed his arms and stared blankly at the door. "I didn't even get one!"

Kyoya lashed out to hit him. It wasn't a serious punch, but a somewhat friendly strike.

"Sorry." Nile paused, and when Kyoya didn't move, he gave him a friendly nudge. "Kyoya, go after her! Can't you tell something's bothering her? Don't you want to make her feel better?"

Kyoya didn't say anything.

"Fine." Nile smoothed out the wrinkles in his green shirt and took a step forward. "If you don't want to try to help her, then I will."

Kyoya leaped up instantly, pushing Nile back and bounding toward the door.

**~meanwhile~**

Hikaru walked a few feet before leaning against the wall and sliding to the ground. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in her knees. _I can't go on like this. Ryuga…he ruined Beyblade for me. I've never felt so afraid. _Her body was shaking again, and when she closed her eyes, she saw Ryuga's cruel face, the three dragons flying toward her, Tsubasa's face, the dragon-like bird soaring through the air. Each second brought fear into her heart. She could run from Tsubasa and Ryuga, but she couldn't run from memories. They would always be there to haunt her.

Then she felt an arm around her shoulders. She glanced to her side and saw Kyoya sitting beside her. She refused to meet his gaze and turned the other way.

"You okay?" His voice was surprisingly comforting.

"I know it wasn't Tsubasa's fault, but he reawakened the memories of Ryuga," she whispered, letting a few tears escape from her eyes.

Kyoya pulled her closer, until she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Ryuga is in the past, and Tsubasa is definitely not someone to fear." She heard the smile in his voice as he continued. "If you should be afraid of any blader, it's me."

Hikaru stifled a laugh. "I couldn't be afraid of you." She pulled away and looked into his sky blue eyes. Before she even had time to think, he leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was packed with emotions, and neither of them wanted to separate. She felt something flutter in her belly as they broke apart, almost as if it were telling her not to stop. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and sighed into his chest. He pushed her away gently and stood, pulling her up as well.

Kyoya leaned down to kiss her again. Every part of her heart and mind told her to stay where she was and embrace it, but she turned away.

"We can't do this," she told him. "Not now, at least."

"Then when?" He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, making her turn so she faced him. His eyes shone with anticipation.

"When _you _win the world championships." Hikaru turned back again and took a few steps away from him. "I look forward to seeing you again."

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><p><em><strong>Hope you liked it! It's more just Hikaru suffering from her fear of the darkness than it is supporting the pairing, but whateva. :D So review, pretty please. Anonymous reviews accepted.<strong>_

_**Reviews are much appreciated, no matter how old the fic.;) They always make me smile.**_

_**EDIT: June 13, 2013- Fixed a couple of typos.**_

_**(:Mizune**_


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